Monday, November 06, 2006

Foods of the Southwest

Shmoo and I have been working on a Unit Study of the First Americans. I was inspired by our study of the Pueblo and Anasazi, and wanted to create a lunch around foods native to the American Southwest. (Although I didn't use any of her recipes, much of the imagery here was inspired by the gorgeous photographs in Lois Ellen Frank's book Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations.)

I used the recipe for Sweet Cornbread in Vegan Lunch Box and baked the batter in a corn cob muffin pan for about 25 minutes. I wrapped the sweet corn cobs in "husks" of freshly made corn tortillas from the local market. Above the corn is a mixture of lightly steamed baby squash, carrot "arrowheads", and sunflower seeds. Next to the veggies is a container of Anasazi and pinto beans. The tiniest container holds Prickly Pear Syrup. I also shaped a bit of cactus pad (nopale) into a decorative garnish.

At lunchtime, the tortilla "husks" were used to scoop up flavorful beans, and the sweet cornbreads were dipped in the syrup for dessert.Verdict: The beans and tortillas were his favorite part. He took a bite out of each baby pattypan, but was disappointed that they they tasted the same as regular squash. Although the garnishes here were just for decoration, shmoo wondered what cactus tasted like, so I cooked the rest for dinner. I cut the pads into strips and boiled until tender, then rinsed well with cold water to remove the okra-ish slime. It tasted like green beans! 4 stars.

23 comments:

Where did you find your corn stick pans? I remember those from my youth and while visiting my mom, made these sticks for my kids who LOVE thme with syrup! Now I need to find my own (my mom's are "vintage") Can't WAIT to get my book.. counting the days!

Hi, Tere -- I cooked them in vegetable broth with lots of minced garlic, some dried red chiles, and a bit of liquid smoke. When they were done I seasoned them with some salt. The Anasazi beans were hard to distinguish from the pinto beans -- they were very similar. It's too bad they're not as pretty cooked as they are dried!

Oh, I've never made them. The market here has a little deli in it and they cook it there. But, it's cut into thin strips and fried with onions, garlic, lime juice, and chiles. They call it nopales con chile. It's awesome.

Yummy...I love nopales. I just wanted to add they're super easy to make. You can cook them up however you want. Just think of french cut green beans as far as texture and taste (kinda). You cut them up, saute them up in a little bit of oil and add chili powder, salt, onions and you can serve up with beans of your choice. Eat with corn tortillas and it's oh so good. Thanks Jennifer for showing them off. These things grow wild here. We grew up with them in my back yard.

I am also very enthralled with studies about the Anasazi Native Americans. When the boys were younger we took a trip from TCities to Arizona where we worked on a unit study about their culture and lifestyle. The ruins were very, very interesting! I love this lunch that you created. Might you be doing a book signing here locally? I've already ordered my book from you. . .I would love having it signed personally.